Morning Edition on 89.5-1

Across the corn belt, more farmers are putting up their own grain bins. In the past year alone, farmers nationwide have added some 300 million bushels of on-farm storage. By storing their own grain, farmers can choose when and at what price they want to sell, and that can translate into thousands of dollars in profit. And this has grain buyers — like grain elevators and ethanol plants --working to keep their edge in the market. Kathleen Masterson of Harvest Public Media reports.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. Here's the latest on the crisis in Syria. The U.S. State Department says it has closed the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, and evacuated its diplomats. The U.S. also issued a warning for all American citizens to leave the country immediately. A State Department spokewoman says the embassy was shut because of concerns that it's not sufficiently protected from armed attack.

The New York Giants came back with a last-minute score to beat the New England Patriots 21-17 Sunday night for New York's fourth Super Bowl title. It was a rematch of the 2008 NFL championship, when Eli Manning led New York past New England to ruin the Patriots' bid for a perfect season.

After several days reeling from a public relations debacle, The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation shifted Monday into recovery mode.

After announcing that it would withdraw funding from Planned Parenthood screening programs last Tuesday — and then reversing that decision three days later — the foundation now faces the challenging task of repairing its image and trying to lure back disillusioned donors.

One of the nation's largest breast cancer charities, the foundation spends tens of millions of dollars annually on breast cancer research, education and screening.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For many chefs, winning the prize we'll talk about next is like winning the Super Bowl. But in the international contest's 26 year history, no American has ever won the Bocuse d'Or. That's D-apostrophe-O-R. The first step in deciding who represents the United States is a nation competition, which was recently held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. Karen Michel was there.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news begins with possible mortgage relief.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

The Republican presidential primary season heads into another phase this week, as Colorado and Minnesota voters choose their candidates tomorrow. Over the weekend, Mitt Romney scored a huge victory in the Nevada caucuses, besting his closest rival, Newt Gingrich, by double digits.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The military-led government in Egypt, in a defiant gesture, says it will put on trial 19 Americans and some two dozen others, over work they've been doing to help Egypt in its transition to democracy. Those facing charges include the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, along with others working for nonprofits promoting civil society and good governance.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Super Bowl of political contests is the presidential campaign. And if 2012 is not compelling enough for you, not to worry. Journalists are already writing about the prospects for 2016. But this year's Republican nominating contest is far from over. Tomorrow, Missouri which holds a primary, and there's a caucus in Minnesota, which is where we find Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Our periodic look at state finances takes us next to New Mexico. The situation there looks a lot less awful than it did.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

After three years of painful cuts, the state has a projected surplus. The question now is what to do with the money. Here's NPR's Ted Robbins.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHANTING)